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<title>Playing Hard to Get by Sivan325, SivanShemesh (Sivan325)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24825187">Playing Hard to Get</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sivan325/pseuds/Sivan325'>Sivan325</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sivan325/pseuds/SivanShemesh'>SivanShemesh (Sivan325)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alec Lightwood-centric, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Angst and Feels, Arranged Marriage, Bad Parent Maryse Lightwood, Bad Parent Robert Lightwood, Blue-Eyed Alec Lightwood, Coming Out, Denial of Feelings, Divorce, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings, Feelings Realization, First Time, Heavy Angst, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:48:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,143</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24825187</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sivan325/pseuds/Sivan325, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sivan325/pseuds/SivanShemesh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec is struggling with his life, his marriage, and his sexuality, everything seemed to be fallen apart.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lydia Branwell/Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: The whole story came from one sentence – “Well, I'm certainly not Ragnor Fell the exotic dancer.” (City of Glass)</p><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous work belongs to Cassandra Clare, thank you for creating the Shadow world.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the second night that he found himself in the “Warlock” club, barely listening to music, and barely even seeing the male dancers on the stage, he had a table for himself to drink his sorrow out as he thought about his life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alec hated his parents, he did everything that they asked from him, he gave up everything they wanted him to, he even married a woman that was not his type.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The arranged marriage his parents made so they could restore the family name since Lydia’s family had a lot of power.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He truly hoped that Lydia was having an affair, he has been married to her for close to two years and he saw her and noticed the dull eyes when she looked at him, his face was the same. They certainly had no love toward each other.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alec barely spent any time at the house, and he could not call it home, it never had the feeling of home to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alec was envious of his adoptive brother, Jace could not stop talking about Clary and the spark in his eyes showed his love for her, Alec was envious about the feelings that his brother had, even his sister Isabelle found love, he barely caught the name of her significant other on the phone when he last spoke to her. He was happy for them, but for himself, he was going to hit rock bottom.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As much as he had a big family, he felt so alone, and unloved.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alec sighed heavily before he threw some bills on the table and left the club.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day, Alec decided that he needed to speak with his wife, get this done with.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He sat in the kitchen while she sat in the living room with a blanket covering herself as she watched tv.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Lydia, I think it is time for us to divorce.” Alec said to her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That caught her attention.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I agreed, I think that we don’t even have the minuscule amount of passion we were able to muster in the beginning of our relationship, we only did this to please our parents,” Lydia looked at him and smiled, then she asked, “What are you going to do?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m going to find myself an apartment, and quit my parents’ firm, I think that it is time to live for myself.” Alec told her as he took a sip from his cup of coffee.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lydia never saw him really happy, only the fake smile that he gave to her family when they visited and when his parents were there and were asking about their marriage lives, he never shown his real smile, and she always hoped that he will find happiness, but she knew it would not be with her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Look, I’m sorry if I held you back, but I never wanted you to feel obliged to us, you should marry someone that you truly love, like John,” Alec told her, but she was not certain that she couldn’t saw a flash in his eyes as he spoke the name of the man she was having an affair with, as he added, breaking her from her thoughts, “I saw you two, acting like teenagers, you two kind of reminded me of Jace and Clary when those two met, and I’m happy for you, so I think that a divorce will be what’s best for the both of us.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lydia walked toward her husband and hugged him, “Thank you,” she said, and then she sat next to him and told him with a smile, “Do not think that I did not see how you checked John’s ass. He is mine now.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You did?” Alec gave her a little smile, as he told her, “I… I guess, it’s me, telling you thanks for not spilling the beans to my parents, it’s the last thing that I need at that moment.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, even though we are not going to husband and wife, I would like us to be friends.” Lydia suggested.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I would like that. Thank you, Lydia.” Alec stood and adjusted his suit before taking his briefcase, he added, “I will ask my lawyer to send you the papers, maybe we can celebrate our divorce in a coffee shop?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Can I bring John? I want you to meet him.” Lydia asked, and then she added grinning at him, “Just remember, hands off the merchandise, John is mine!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I got that part.” Alec smiled at her, and she could see the smile touched his blue eyes, and that made her feel happy for him as a friend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alec was dreading the moment he’d have to tell his parents about the divorce, but he knew that he had too, if only to release some the pressure from his shoulders.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He walked to his parents’ mansion and faced them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maryse and Robert were angry at Alec’s behavior as he walked away from a great marriage, that they arranged with the Branwells, and that he ruined everything.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I can’t see your face right now Alec, I need to build back what you are about to destroy when you decided to leave the marriage, I can’t believe that you did that to Lydia, she’s a nice woman.” Maryse snapped at her son and turned away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Your mother is right, and you better not show up here for diner in the foreseeable future, you are not welcome at the moment,” Robert told him and added, “Look at your mother, do you see how much you upset her?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alec nodded, he glanced a look toward his parents, but when he saw they were unwilling to pay any attention to him, he left the house.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izzy and Jace were in their own world, he did not want to upset them, and Max, his younger brother was away in a private school. Alec figured that his siblings had a lot on their hands already, they do not need him around sulking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>About a month later, the divorce was finalized, and Alec moved to the small apartment that he found, he also managed to quit his family business, the job that he hated, but at least he had his own account, and his parents had no affiliation with it, and he knew that he needed to live his own life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alec kept going back to the “Warlock” club at night, it was a great place for him to do a lot of thinking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before leaving the club, he looked at his hand, the ring was still on his finger, Alec pulled off the ring, and placed it on the chair, before he left the club, he was determined to come back at a later date, and really have fun, but today he was feeling too glum to do anything, the events of the last month were very emotional for him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hit me with prompts, Malec prompts at <a href="https://sivan325.tumblr.com/">My Tumblr</a></p><p>You can also find me at <a href="https://discord.gg/C26DBxG/">Malec</a> Discord.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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